The UNWTO says it expects the decline in trip duration and spending to be "more pronounced" than the fall in arrivals.

James Standen, an American tourist is an example of this.

Snapping shots of Hong Kong's cityscape with his wife on Victoria Peak, he said the tanking United States economy hadn't put them off their 10-day trip to Asia, but they delayed coming till after the New Year to save on airfares.

"The economy hasn't really bitten us ... but it cost about half as much by coming later."

Political risk

Political instability and shifting government policies have also exacerbated the strain on the tourism sector in countries such as Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

The week-long siege of Bangkok's airports tarnished Thailand's reputation as a tourist haven, and caused around a million foreign visitors to cancel or go elsewhere. The country's central bank recently forecast tourist arrivals could fall 9 percent this year to 12.8 million, the worst year since 2005 after the tsunami disaster.

In India, 179 people, including scores of tourists, were killed in November's Mumbai attacks, when gunmen targeted luxury hotels and other popular tourist spots in India's financial capital.

The gloom has since spread to places such as Goa, one of the country's top tourist draws where visitor arrivals plunged 25 percent during the peak season, according to officials in the tourism industry.

(Shanghai Daily January 24, 2009)